Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity

Although the status of the national language of Malaysia has been consolidated in the Constitution, the Malay language remains commonly associated with a specific segment of Malaysian society, i.e., the Malays. The language is often seen as a distinct marker for Malayness whereas the non-Malay et...

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Main Authors:	Pue, Giok Hun, Ong, Puay Liu, Loo, Hong Chuang
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2019
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/1/30162-102463-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-14079
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-140792020-01-31T22:38:09Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/ Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity Pue, Giok Hun Ong, Puay Liu Loo, Hong Chuang Although the status of the national language of Malaysia has been consolidated in the Constitution, the Malay language remains commonly associated with a specific segment of Malaysian society, i.e., the Malays. The language is often seen as a distinct marker for Malayness whereas the non-Malay ethnic groups, particularly in Peninsular Malaysia, are not widely associated with the language. The Chinese as the largest minority ethnic group in the Peninsular, are often stereotypically depicted as relatively less fluent or knowledgeable in Malay language, at times not beyond the colloquial ‘bahasa pasar’. Such a scenario suggests that language-wise, Malaysian society remains divided along ethnic lines. This paper seeks to highlight Malay language use among Peranakan Chinese youth in Kelantan. While their higher level of Malay language proficiency vis-à-vis mainstream Chinese is readily acknowledged, findings from content analyses of qualitative data collected in a focus group discussion also suggest that such proficiency in Malay language is achieved due to it being pivotal to the continuity of their identity as both Kelantan Peranakan Chinese and Kelantanese. In short, the Kelantan Peranakan Chinese community is a good example that proficiency in Malay language as national language can exist in tandem with the group’s mother tongue language, and thus should be celebrated and supported towards building a common identity as part of nation-building in Malaysia. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2019-05 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/1/30162-102463-1-PB.pdf Pue, Giok Hun and Ong, Puay Liu and Loo, Hong Chuang (2019) Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 19 (2). pp. 33-51. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1188
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Although the status of the national language of Malaysia has been consolidated in the Constitution, the Malay language remains commonly associated with a specific segment of Malaysian society, i.e., the Malays. The language is often seen as a distinct marker for Malayness whereas the non-Malay ethnic groups, particularly in Peninsular Malaysia, are not widely associated with the language. The Chinese as the largest minority ethnic group in the Peninsular, are often stereotypically depicted as relatively less fluent or knowledgeable in Malay language, at times not beyond the colloquial ‘bahasa pasar’. Such a scenario suggests that language-wise, Malaysian society remains divided along ethnic lines. This paper seeks to highlight Malay language use among Peranakan Chinese youth in Kelantan. While their higher level of Malay language proficiency vis-à-vis mainstream Chinese is readily acknowledged, findings from content analyses of qualitative data collected in a focus group discussion also suggest that such proficiency in Malay language is achieved due to it being pivotal to the continuity of their identity as both Kelantan Peranakan Chinese and Kelantanese. In short, the Kelantan Peranakan Chinese community is a good example that proficiency in Malay language as national language can exist in tandem with the group’s mother tongue language, and thus should be celebrated and supported towards building a common identity as part of nation-building in Malaysia.
format	Article
author	Pue, Giok Hun Ong, Puay Liu Loo, Hong Chuang
spellingShingle	Pue, Giok Hun Ong, Puay Liu Loo, Hong Chuang Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
author_facet	Pue, Giok Hun Ong, Puay Liu Loo, Hong Chuang
author_sort	Pue, Giok Hun
title	Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
title_short	Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
title_full	Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
title_fullStr	Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
title_full_unstemmed	Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity
title_sort	kelantan peranakan chinese language and marker of group identity
publisher	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2019
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14079/1/30162-102463-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:06:17Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:06:17Z
_version_	1777407180502204416

Kelantan Peranakan Chinese language and marker of group identity

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